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    vendredi 1 mai 2015

    Video: qualifying action from 6 Hours of Spa


    WEC 6 Hours of Spa - Qualifying Highlights par fiawec

    WEC, Spa : Porsche et Aston Martin dominent les qualifs / qualifying: a 1-2-3 result for Porsche!


    Les trois Porsche 919 Hybrid/Michelin s’élanceront en premières positions des 6 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps 2015 devant deux Audi et deux Toyota. La pole a été signée par la Porsche N°17 (Bernhard/Harltey/Webber) en 1min54s767. Comme à Silverstone, Aston Martin a dominé les catégories LM GTE Pro et Am, et G-Drive la LM P2.
    Le circuit de Spa, long de 7,004 km, et des tours de près de deux minutes, ne laissaient pas beaucoup de temps pour les stratégies. Porsche a pris les choses en main et Hulkenberg (Porsche N°19) était le premier dans la file d’attente à la sortie de la pit-lane, devant la Toyota N°1 de Davidson.
    Le « rookie » du WEC a signé le premier temps de référence en 1min55s130, mais c’est son équipier Brendon Hartley (Porsche N°17) qui occupait le haut du classement en 1min54s779 après les premiers runs. Jani (Porsche N°18) assurait un top-3 provisoire à Porsche.
    Les trois 919 Hybrid sont rentrées au stand après un tour rapide seulement. Hartley a cédé le volant à Bernhard dont le chrono d’1min54s755 (meilleur temps absolu) a permis de qualifier la Porsche N°17 en pole, avec au passage un nouveau record en qualifs à Spa (1min57s884, Bourdais, Peugeot 908, 2010).
    « Je dédie cette pole à Stefan Bellof », a déclaré Timo Bernhard, qui porte un casque replica du pilote allemand disparu ici en 1985. « C’est notre 3e pole consécutive, mais attention car nous avons aussi abandonné deux fois de suite. »
    Les trois Porsche ont conclu ces qualifs séparées par 0s517, alors que Marcel Fassler et André Lotterer ont fait leur possible pour rester au contact (Audi N°7, +0s773). Les autres protos hybrides ont fini loin derrière.
    La bagarre fut très intéressante en LM P2 entre la Ligier JS P2-Nissan G-Drive et l’Oreca05-Nissan KCMG. Nicolas Lapierre a brièvement hissé la N°47 en pole, mais Julien Canal a repris son bien sur la N°26. Les deux protos sont séparés par moins d’1/10e de seconde. La Morgan Evo N°43 Sard-Morand a pris la 3e place.
    Après avoir dominé les qualifs à Silverstone, Aston Martin a également signé la pole des 6 Heures de Spa en LM GTE Pro et Am.
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    Chez les « Pros », Richie Stanaway (2min17s039) et Fernando Rees (2min16s642) ont offert la pole position à l’Aston Martin N°99 avec une moyenne de 2min16s840. Le Brésilien a signé le meilleur temps absolu de la catégorie ! « Les conditions étaient parfaites », a déclaré Fernando. « J’avais un train de pneus neuf Michelin, je pense que notre stratégie sera meilleure qu’à Silverstone. En 2014, je découvrais le team et la catégorie LM GTE Pro. Je crois avoir bien progressé. »
    On pensait qu’Aston Martin allait monopoliser la première ligne avec la N°97 (Mucke/Turner, moyenne 2min17s231), mais Gimmi Bruni est ressorti en fin de séance pour améliorer son premier chrono (2min16s420) et hisser la Ferrari N°51 en 2e position !
    Fred Mako a tenté la même opération sur la Porsche N°92, sans succès. Les Porsche 911 RSR partiront en queue du peloton LM GTE Pro, derrière la Ferrari N°71 et l’Aston Martin N°95.
    En « Am », l’Aston Martin N°98 s’élancera en pole comme à Silverstone grâce à Pedro Lamy (2min17s971) et Paul Dalla Lana qui a conservé l’avantage (2min21s185). Avec une moyenne de 2min19s578, l’Aston N°98 devance la Corvette N°50 (Ruberti/Roda) de plus d’une seconde et la Porsche N°88 (Bachler/Ried) de près de deux secondes. Derrière, les Ferrari N°55, N°83 et N°72 précèdent la Porsche N°77 Dempsey-Proton.
    Porsche Team celebrated the anniversary of its first FIA WEC pole here in 2014 with a resounding one-two-three finish in qualifying for this year’s 6 Hours of Spa. The N°17 919 Hybrid/Michelin (Bernhard/Webber/Hartley) will start Saturday’s race from pole position. As at Silverstone, Aston Martin Racing was the dominant team in LM GTE Pro, this time with the N°99 Vantage V8. The British team will also start from pole in LM GTE Am thanks to its N°98 car. LM P2 victor was G-Drive’s N°26 Ligier-Nissan.
    A bright, if chilly (11°C) afternoon at Spa-Francorchamps ensured dry conditions for qualifying.
    The long circuit length of 7.004km, with lap times likely to be just under two minutes, provided teams with little liberty for smart strategies. However, Porsche was clearly keen to get onto the track, since its N°19 car (Nico Hulkenberg) was first in the queue waiting for the green light, shadowed by Davidson in the N°1 Toyota.
    WEC Rookie Hulkenberg went on to the lay down the initial benchmark time (1m55.130s) and appear briefly at the top, but it was team-mate Brendon Hartley (N°17 Porsche, 1m54.779s) who led after the first round of flying laps. Neel Jani (N°18 Porsche) made it a provisional one-two-three for the German make at this stage.
    All three Porsches pitted for driver changes after just one flyer. Hartley was replaced by Timo Bernhard whose subsequent lap of 1m54.755s was enough to wrap up the battle for pole in favour of the N°17 919 Hybrid.
    In the process, the German established a new qualifying lap record for Spa, amply beating the 1m57.884s of Sébastien Bourdais (Peugeot) that had stood since 2010.
    At the end of the session, the three Porsches were covered by just 0.517s, as Fässler and Lotterer did their best to remain in contact in the N°7 Audi (4th, +0.773s). The other hybrid prototypes finished a long way back.
    “I dedicate this pole to Stefan Bellof [who died at Spa in 1985],” declared Bernhard after the session. “That makes three straight poles for this car, but also three consecutive retirements… That’s a trend we need to halt.”
    The LM P2 class provided an interesting battle between the N°26 Ligier JS P2-Nissan of Rusinov/Canal/Bird (G-Drive) and KCMG’s N°47 Oreca 05-Nissan. The former emerged in front early on but the two cars traded places before Frenchman Julien Canal put the Ligier back on top. The KCMG trio ended up second, less than one-hundredth of a second adrift, while third place went to the N°43 Morgan Evo-Sard (Sard Morand) (+0.294s).
    Meanwhile, after dominating qualifying at Silverstone, Aston Martin earned its second LM GTE Pro pole of the season this evening.
    Richie Stanaway (2m17.039s) and Fernando Rees (2m16.642s, the session’s fastest lap) put the N°99 Vantage V8 on top with an average of 2m16.840s. “The conditions were perfect,” noted Rees. “I had a set of fresh Michelins and I think our strategy was better than at Silverstone.”
    It looked like Aston Martin might monopolise the front row thanks to the N°97 sister car of Mucke/Turner/Bell (2m17.231s), but Gimmi Bruni went back out at the very end to improve on his earlier effort and promote the N°51 Ferrari into second place.
    Fred Makowiecki tried the same tactic in the N°92 Porsche but his deficit was far too big to make up and the two Porsche 911 RSRs ended up last in LM GTE Pro, behind the N°71 Ferrari and the N°95 Aston Martin.
    As at Silverstone, the LM GTE Am pole was secured by the N°98 Aston Martin thanks to Pedro Lamy and Paul Dalla Lana who posted an average of 2m19.578s. Second was the N°50 Corvette, more than a second behind, with the N°88 Porsche in third, almost two seconds back.

    MotoGP; Lorenzo retrouve de sa superbe à Jerez / Lorenzo is back!


    Le Majorquin est au sommet du classement combiné du Grand Prix bwin d’Espagne après avoir dominé les deux séances d’essais de vendredi.
    Absent du podium depuis le début de la saison 2015 alors que son coéquipier Valentino Rossi caracole en tête du classement MotoGP™ avec deux victoires en trois courses, Jorge Lorenzo pourrait être sur le point de faire son retour sur le devant de la scène et occupait le sommet de la feuille de temps pour la première fois de l’année vendredi à Jerez de la Frontera. 
    Après trois premiers Grands Prix qui s’étaient terminés de manière décevante pour le Majorquin, ce dernier a pris l’initiative dès l’ouverture de la piste vendredi matin et alors signé le meilleur temps de la journée en 1’39.174, avant de se montrer un peu moins rapide l’après-midi, sur une piste nettement plus chaude. 
    L’Espagnol, qui devrait selon Lin Jarvis aller au bout de son contrat et continuer chez Yamaha en 2016, demeurait cependant le plus rapide en piste et en première position sur le classement combiné, avec 0.049s sur Aleix Espargaró (Team Suzuki Ecstar), qui avait lui aussi réalisé sa meilleure performance le matin, en profitant d’un pneu tendre. 
    Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) a de son côté rassuré ses fans et ne semblait pas être gêné par sa fracture de l’auriculaire gauche, dont il avait été opéré à peine une semaine plus tôt. Huitième d’une première séance au cours de laquelle il est resté prudent et testait une poignée gauche modifiée pour moins solliciter son doigt blessé, le Champion du Monde en titre s’est hissé à la troisième position sur le classement combiné l’après-midi et a affirmé qu’il se sentait aussi bien qu’il pouvait l’espérer. 
    Derrière les trois Espagnols, Andrea Iannone (Ducati) et Andrea Dovizioso complétaient le Top 5 de la journée, à un peu plus de trois dixièmes de seconde de Lorenzo, tandis que Danilo Petrucci (Pramac Racing) plaçait sa Ducati satellite en sixième position. 
    Sur le podium lors de la course précédente, Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda) s’est classé septième devant Pol Espargaró (Monster Yamaha Tech3) et Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP). Brillant en course depuis le début de l’année, le nonuple Champion du Monde était sixième le matin puis treizième l’après-midi, à tout juste plus d’une seconde de son coéquipier. S’il n’est qu’à 0.698s de Lorenzo sur le classement combiné, son retard de plus d’une seconde l’après-midi aurait pu être préoccupant si l'Italien, neuvième de journée, n'avait pas révélé qu'il était en fait resté sur le pneu dur alors que le modèle plus tendre s'était avéré bien plus performant.
    Derrière Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Héctor Barberá (Avintia Racing) occupe la onzième position et est le premier pilote Open sur le classement combiné, devant Scott Redding (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), Stefan Bradl (Athinà Forward Racing) et Loris Baz (Athinà Forward Racing).
    Mike Di Meglio (Avintia Racing) n’est que dix-huitième sur le classement combiné mais a en fait été le pilote Open le plus rapide l’après-midi, dans des conditions chaudes probablement assez proches de celles que l’on peut attendre pour la course, et s’était classé quatorzième juste derrière Rossi.
    Les essais libres de la catégorie MotoGP™ continuent samedi matin à partir de 9h55.
    Cliquez ici pour accéder aux résultats.
    Lin Jarvis, le directeur général de Yamaha Factory Racing, a confirmé que Jorge Lorenzo irait jusqu’au bout de son contrat chez Yamaha.
    Lin Jarvis s’est entretenu avec motogp.com vendredi à Jerez et a confirmé que Jorge Lorenzo continuerait de courir pour le team Movistar Yamaha MotoGP en 2016, comme le prévoit son contrat. Suite à un début de saison 2015 compliqué, des rumeurs annonçaient que l’Espagnol désirait changer de constructeur à la fin de l’année.
    Jarvis a confirmé que les deux parties avaient décidé d’aller jusqu’au bout de leur contrat, bien qu’une rupture d’un commun accord demeure une possibilité : « Je peux vous assurer et je peux assurer au paddock MotoGP™ que Jorge sera chez Yamaha en 2016. Nous en avons déjà parlé ensemble et tout est clair, il veut rester avec nous et nous voulons qu’il reste. C’est aussi simple que ça, Jorge sera avec nous cette année et l’an prochain. C’est un fait ! »
    Jorge Lorenzo rode like a man that had something to prove, while Marc Marquez battled through the pain barrier on the first day in Jerez.
    It has not been the easiest start to 2015 for Lorenzo, who has failed to finish on the podium in the first three races of the season for the first time in his MotoGP™ career.
    The Movistar Yamaha rider currently occupies fourth in the Championship standings, 29 points behind his teammate Rossi, and knew that a strong showing in the first European race of the season would be essential if he was to have any chance of fighting for the title.
    The double MotoGP™ World Champion certainly sent out a message today that he was “back” by topping both Free Practice sessions, and early signs appear to show that he could be once again be challenging for the race win come Sunday. In FP1 Lorenzo was competitive from the outset, setting his fastest time on just his fifth lap and finishing 0.049s ahead of Aleix Espargaro on the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR. In FP2 he tried out the hard tyre compound to start with but switched back to the medium compound to set his fastest time, beating Marquez into second, a result he would love to emulate when the lights go out on Sunday.
    The Spaniard explained how he had turned his fortunes around today: “My mentality from this morning was to go for it and don‘t think too much, just try to ride according to my instinct and it worked very well, especially in the morning. It seems we are coming back stronger. We will have to demonstrate it tomorrow and especially on Sunday. I want to show my form again on the track tomorrow with my speed.”
    To add to his performance on track was the news that he had agreed to stay with his Movistar Yamaha team until the end of his current contract, which runs out at the end of the 2016 season.
    There had been rumours in the paddock that Lorenzo was looking at another ride for next season, but Yamaha Factory Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis confirmed that this wasn’t the case: “I can assure you and I can assure the MotoGP™ paddock that Jorge will be with Yamaha for 2016. We have spoken together already and its already clear, he wants to stay with us, we want to stay with him, it’s done, so Jorge will be with us this year and next. It’s a fact!”
    However, what about Marc Marquez? The reigning MotoGP™ World Champion came to Jerez trailing Valentino Rossi by 30 points in the standings, so the news that he had fractured his finger in training on Saturday, needing an operation, was not exactly ideal. Marquez was deemed fit to race by the medical team at the circuit on Thursday, but all eyes were on the Spaniard as he took to the track for the first time today to see how his injury would affect him.
    The answer? Not a lot! He may have ended FP1 down in eighth, 0.740s off the pace, but by the afternoon it was business as usual for Marquez, as he set the second fastest time in FP2 to finish just 0.128s behind Lorenzo. This left him third fastest overall at the end of the day, and showed that even a broken finger could not stop the Spanish wunderkind: “We can be happy that my hand has responded quite well today - as well as could be expected. It hurts a lot but at least I can put in the laps. We’ll see if tomorrow it is better if it doesn’t swell up.”
    On top of all of this, the current Championship leader Valentino Rossi was languishing down in ninth overall when FP2 concluded. This should not worry “The Doctor” though; as his last three victories have come from eighth on the grid, and ninth place is exactly where he found himself after the first day of practice in Argentina…and we all know what happened there. Rossi explained his lack of pace: "It was a difficult practice, especially this afternoon. I think I could have gotten a better position but I decided to use just the harder option and work with just that tyre, because we thought that was the best tyre for the race. Unfortunately the performance is very low and the lap time isn‘t good enough, so I think that also the soft can be an option too, but it will be difficult."
    It is always hard to take much from the first day of practice, but with the top ten riders separated by less than a second, and only two seconds separating the top twenty, it looks like Qualifying should be rather exciting on Saturday.
    Check out the combined MotoGP™ practice times from Jerez and the riders are back on track on Saturday at 9:55am local time for FP3.
    Yamaha Factory Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis confirms that Jorge Lorenzo will stay with Yamaha for the remainder of his contract.
    Jarvis spoke to motogp.com to confirm that Jorge Lorenzo will stay with the Factory Movistar Yamaha team until the end of his current contract in 2016. Lorenzo has not had the best of starts to the 2015 MotoGP™ season, and there were rumours that he might have been looking to move at the end of this year.
    Jarvis confirmed that while there was an option for both parties to terminate the contract early if they so desired, they have both decided to see it through to its conclusion: “I can assure you and I can assure the MotoGP™ paddock that Jorge will be with Yamaha for 2016. We have spoken together already and its already clear, he wants to stay with us, we want to stay with him, it’s done, so Jorge will be with us this year and next. It’s a fact!”




    Discussing the Dymaxion death-trap, 1933


    Rear-wheel steering, an aversion to crosswinds and the profile of a road-going Hindenburg – what could possibly go wrong?
    It could all have gone so well. The Dymaxion was the brainchild of inventor, architect and all-round genius Buckminster Fuller, who sought to revolutionise society’s approach to efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Several of his projects carried the Dymaxion name yet, at the height of the depression, Fuller decided his road-going blimp was the most feasible. It was 19.5ft long, could carry 11 passengers and was powered by the brand-new Ford V8; yet it weighed about the same as aVW Beetle, and could achieve up to 36mpg. Impressive, in principle.

    Steering from the tail

    The first Dymaxion was completed in 1933; the lead image above shows Captain Al Williams (a noted speed flyer and driver) discussing its merits with Marvin McIntyre, secretary to President Roosevelt. However, the discussion might have been a little less jolly had it taken place a few months later: the first car produced had rolled over en route to the Chicago World Fair, killing its driver. The subsequent inquest pointed the blame at the three-wheeler’s steering system, which comprised two driven wheels up front, and a single steerable wheel at the tail. Fatefully, the same car was destroyed in a fire several years later and, due to the bad press from the earlier fatal accident, only two other cars were completed. The proof was in the pudding and, in the Dymaxion’s case, that pudding was a jelly – curious to look at, but disastrously unstable on the move.

    Photo: Underwood Archives / Getty

    WEC, Spa : Audi répond à Porsche sur le sec / Audi ahead of Porsche in the dry


    André Lotterer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro/Michelin N°7) a réalisé le meilleur chrono de cette troisième séance d’essais libres où sept des huit prototypes hybrides sont passés sous le meilleur temps absolu de 2014.
    Les pluies nocturnes et l’épais brouillard matinal ont laissé place à un ciel gris, mais calme, au-dessus de Spa-Francorchamps. En revanche, il fait un peu frisquet pour un 1er mai (10°C) un jour qui n’est pas chômé en FIA WEC, bien au contraire.
    Après une première journée très arrosée hier, les concurrents avaient hâte de rouler sur une piste sèche pour cette troisième et dernière séance d’essais libres avant les qualifs. Toutes les voitures étaient alignées en bout de pit-lane bien avant le feu vert.
    Toutes, y compris la Toyota N°1 et l’Audi N°8 endommagées hier dans une collision. Les blessures de Kazuki Nakajima sont plus sévères qu’annoncées après l’accident puisque le Japonais souffre d’une fracture vertébrale (L1).
    Dans son premier tour rapide, André Lotterer (Audi N°7) est descendu sous la barre des 2min00s (1min59s905), avant une amélioration signée Mike Conway (Toyota N°2 en 1min59s630), soit un chrono déjà plus rapide que le meilleur temps absolu de 2014 (1min59s887).
    Les Porsche 919 Hybrid sont ensuite passées à l’action avec Neel Jani (1min57s861), puis Nick Tandy, qui, pour son tout premier tour de Spa sur le sec en LM P1, a signé un chrono d’1min57s802, avant d’améliorer en 1min57s396 !
    A 15 minutes de la fin, son équipier Nico Hulkenberg en a remis une couche en 1min57s379 dès son premier tour lancé. Ce chrono a tenu près d’un quart d’heure, jusqu’au dernier run d’André Lotterer qui a réalisé 1min57s368 sur l’Audi N°7 en configuration « Le Mans ».
    L’Audi N°7 devance donc les trois Porsche 919 Hybrid et l’Audi N°8. Ces cinq prototypes hybrides se tiennent en moins d’une seconde, alors que les deux Toyota TS040 Hybrid sont à plus de deux secondes.
    En LM P2, Sam Bird a très vite réalisé le meilleur chrono sur la Ligier JS P2-Nissan N°26 devant Nicolas Lapierre sur l’Oreca05-Nissan KCMG (+0s439). En LMGTE Pro, Toni Vilander a réalisé le meilleur temps dans son dernier tour sur la Ferrari N°51 (2min18s390) devant l’Aston Martin N°99 et la Ferrari N°71.
    En LMGTE Am, l’Aston Martin N°98 a conclu ces essais libres avec le meilleur temps (2min19s485) devant la Corvette Larbre Compétition. Klaus Bachler a envoyé la Porsche N°88 dans un mur de pneus à Blanchimont en début de séance.
    La séance d’essais qualifs a été avancée. Les GTE entreront en piste à 18h00, les prototypes à 18h35.
    André Lotterer (N°7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro/Michelin) was accredited with the fastest lap during Free Practice 3. Seven of the eight hybrid prototypes beat the fastest lap posted at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps meeting in 2014.
    The overnight rain and thick morning fog eventually cleared to make way for clearer conditions at Spa-Francorchamps, as the temperature ‘soared’ to the 10°C mark.
    It’s May 1, Labour Day, of course, but it hasn’t been a day of rest for the WEC teams and drivers…
    On the contrary, after Thursday’s downpour, everyone was eager to get on with the week’s third and last free practice run and benefit, at last, from dry conditions before qualifying.
    Unsurprisingly, all the cars could be seen waiting in the pit lane for the green light to start the session. The only exceptions were the N°1 Toyota and N°8 Audi which both sustained damage when they collided yesterday. Unfortunately, the impact resulted in a cracked vertebra (L1) for Toyota’s Kazuki Nakajima.
    André Lotterer (N°7 Audi) was the first to squeeze beneath the two-minute mark this week, but his time of 1m59.905s was soon bettered by Mike Conway (N°2 Toyota, 1m59.630s) who slightly improved on the absolute fastest time from the 2014 meeting (1m59.887s).
    After that, the Porsche 919 Hybrids started to bring down the benchmark further thanks to Neel Jani (1m57.861s), then Nick Tandy whose very first lap in an LM P1 car at Spa in the dry bagged a 1m57.802s, followed by a 1m57.396s!
    Fifteen minutes from the end, his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg posted a 1m57.379s on his first flyer. That time held until the very last run of André Lotterer who recorded a 1m57.368s with the N°7 Audi in its ‘Le Mans’ configuration.
    The German prototype ended up ahead of the three Porsche 919 Hybrids and the N°8 Audi. These five cars were covered by less than a second, while the two Toyota TS040 Hybrids were more than two seconds adrift.
    In LM P2, Sam Brid posted the best time early on in the N°26 Ligier JS P2-Nissan, ahead of Nicolas Lapierre (Oreca05-Nissan KCMG, +0.439s).
    The fastest LMGTE Pro driver was Toni Vilander in the N°51 Ferrari (2m18.390s), chased by the N°99 Aston Martin and the N°71 Ferrari.
    In LMGTE Am, the N°98 Aston Martin completed the session on top (2m19.485s), clear of Larbre Compétition’s Corvette. Klaus Bachler crashed the N°88 Porsche into the tyre wall at Blanchimont at the beginning of the session.
    The start of qualifying has been brought forward to 6pm (LM GTE) and 6:35pm (LM P1/2) local time.

    WEC : Spa ou Spa-Francorchamps ? / Spa? Or Spa-Francorchamps?


    6 Heures de Spa, 6 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps, 6 Heures de Francorchamps ou 1000 km de Francorchamps ? Lequel est correct ? La ville de Spa peut apparemment remercier les Britanniques pour sa renommée internationale…
    Le nom officiel du circuit belge est Spa-Francorchamps, même si la ville de Spa se trouve à 10 km du paddock. C’est un peu comme Magny-Cours en France ; le nom officiel du circuit est Nevers Magny Cours. La ville de Nevers est pourtant quatre fois plus grande que Spa (40 000 habitants), mais c’est le petit village de Magny-Cours qui est entré dans l’histoire.
    Nous avons demandé à des collègues belges de nous éclairer. « Personnellement, je parle toujours de Francorchamps : les 24 Heures de Francorchamps, le Grand-Prix de Francorchamps », nous a dit un journaliste flamand. « Ma seule exception, c’est ce week-end. Pour moi, les 6 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps restent les 1000 km de Spa, et ça ne changera pas. »
    L’appellation Spa est la préférée des fans britanniques et allemands car le mot est plus facile à prononcer que Francorchamps. « Non seulement les Anglais ont rebaptisé le circuit, mais ils ont aussi inventé des noms de virages. Par exemple, pour nous, l’épingle Rivage est Bruxelles, et les virages des combes sont Pif-Paf et Malmedy. »
    De son côté, un journaliste francophone emploie systématiquement le mot Spa. Jamais Francorchamps. « Je pense que beaucoup parlent de Spa en raison des relations de la ville et des sports mécaniques qui remontent à très longtemps. »
    Dans un pays aussi partagé que la Belgique, il n’est peut-être pas étonnant que l’on se divise aussi sur l’appellation du circuit !
    Pour information, Francorchamps – qui accueille 80% du circuit – est un petit village qui dépend de Stavelot (nom du Turn 16). Le circuit passe également sur la commune de Malmedy, qui n’a aucune mention dans l’appellation officielle !
    Le circuit traversant leur territoire, les gens de Stavelot sont un peu jaloux de la renommée internationale acquise par Spa grâce au circuit. En réponse, ils ont créé le Stavelot Motor Museum, un lieu à visiter pour les fans de sports mécaniques…
    You can find this weekend’s round of the FIA World Endurance Championship described as the 6 Hours of Spa, the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the 6 Hours of Francorchamps, or even the 1,000km of Francorchamps. Which is correct? And why so many alternatives? The town of Spa can apparently thank the British nation’s notorious lack of language skills for its worldwide reputation!
    Belgium’s legendary circuit is officially known as Spa-Francorchamps, even though the town of Spa is around 10km away from the paddock.
    It’s a bit like Nevers Magny-Cours in France, except that Nevers (population: 40,000) is four times bigger than the Ardennes thermal resort.
    Also, the French venue is nearly always referred to simply as ‘Magny-Cours’, the name of the neighbouring village, whereas the Belgian track is more frequently called just ‘Spa’, at least internationally.
    We asked some Belgian colleagues to talk us through the political correctness of the situation: “Personally, I always talk about ‘Francorchamps’: the 24 Hours of Francorchamps, the Francorchamps Formula 1 Grand Prix,” said a Flemish reporter. “My only exception is this weekend’s race. For me, the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will always be the 1,000km of Spa. That will never change.”
    The appellation ‘Spa’, he suggests, is preferred by British and German racing fans because they find ‘Francorchamps’ too difficult to pronounce: “Not only did the English re-baptise the circuit but they also invented new names for many of the turns. For us, the 'Rivage' hairpin, for example, is known as ‘Bruxelles’, and the ‘Les Combes’ corners are ‘Zig-Zag’ plus ‘Malmedy’…”
    Meanwhile, another journalist, from French-speaking Wallonia, says he systematically employs ‘Spa’. Never ‘Francorchamps’! “I think many people say ‘Spa’ because of its association with motor racing from the very early days of the sport,” he reasons.
    In a country that is so distinctly divided into two parts, it’s perhaps no surprise that there is no common view, even on such an everyday subject!
    For information, Francorchamps – home of 80% of the track – is actually a small village that is part of Stavelot (the name of Turn 16). However, part of the land on which it sits actually belongs to nearby Malmedy, which doesn’t even get a mention in the official name.
    Because it is located on their territory, the people of Stavelot are understandably a little jealous of the international renown enjoyed by their neighbours in Spa thanks to the circuit. Their response was to found the Stavelot Motor Museum, a must for all motor racing fans visiting Spa, Francorchamps, or anywhere in Belgium, come to that!

    The Lockheed Lounge by Marc Newson is the most expensive sofa in the world


    Lockheed Lounge by Marc Newson is considered the world's most expensive contemporary design object. In 2009, the aircraft-wing-inspired couch was sold at auction for £1.1 million. Today, another example could yield more than twice that figure…

    Uncomfortable, but expensive

    There might be more comfortable seating than a sofa produced in the style of an aircraft wing - but when the Australian designer Marc Newson first unveiled his streamlined recliner in 1985, at an exhibition in Sydney, the design world loved it. Newson then developed a small series. The organically shaped Lockheed Lounge, named after the American aircraft manufacturer, consisted of glassfibre-reinforced plastic covered with thin, riveted sheets of aluminium. In 1998, the aeronautical furniture made headlines again when an example was sold by the Phillips de Pury auction house for £1.1 million, breaking all previous records. Among the listings of a London design sale by Phillips on 28 April 2015, a Lockheed Lounge is once again due to come under the hammer. The auction house expects the unusual sofa to fetch between £1.5 and £2.5 million.

    24 HEURES MOTONAUTIQUES DE ROUEN 3 CHAMPIONNAT DU MONDE, 2 JOURS DE FÊTES ET D’EXPLOIT



    Célébrées chaque année au 1er mai, les 24 Heures Motonautiques de Rouen constituent le plus grand évènement d’endurance motonautique au monde. Les meilleurs compétiteurs de plus de 20 nations viennent s’affronter au cœur de la Ville de Rouen autour de l’île Lacroix qui devient le temps des 24HROUEN, la capitale du motonautisme.





    Quelques 112 compétiteurs vont se disputer la victoire sur 3 catégories officielles de l’Union International Motonautique 







    L’ESPRIT DES 24 HEURES DE ROUEN

    Au-delà de la compétition sportive qui verra s'affronter les meilleurs compétiteurs du moment, cette épreuve normande proposera aux 250 000 visiteurs attendus une immersion dans l'univers du motonautisme, une rencontre avec un public. Exploits sportifs, spectacles, découvertes et émotions seront ainsi donc au rendez-vous du 30 Avril au 2 Mai 2015.
    Afin d'organiser un évènement extraordinaire, les 24 Heures Motonautiques de Rouen 2015 s’articulent autour d’engagements forts : l'exploit, le respect,







    L’EXPLOIT 

    Celui des meilleurs compétiteurs qui repoussent toujours les limites du sport. Cette compétition qui montre l’excellence d’un savoir-faire et du motonautisme de haut niveau international. Un événement qui impose exigence et qualité organisationnelle. Une quête d’exploirt, une recherche de sensation, un spectacle en réponse aux attentes du public.

    LE RESPECT 

    Respect des hommes et de la mécanique, de l’environnement. Un moment de convivialité entre tous, visiteurs, compétiteurs, Normands et Rouennais. Une occasion de montrer la fierté rouennaise et de (re)découvrir une région de caractère.













    ‘06 Triumph Bonneville – MaccoMotors


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    Written by Martin Hodgson
    When you live in the UK and want to customise your very English Triumph Bonneville to a high British standard you send it to… Spain? For owner Daniel, that is the path he took having seen the work of Spanish builders Macco Motors and the results speak for themselves. A classic Brit built in Spain with parts from around the world; it exemplifies the global community the custom culture has become and the result is one incredible 2006 Triumph Bonneville T100 named “Steadfast”.
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    Daniel had previously performed some modifications of his own to his T100 having fitted some M bars and pipes from Norman Hyde. But simple changes were never going to be enough to quench Daniel’s thirst for something truly unique and having seen their work he knew Jose and Tito from Macco Motors were just the men to build his machine. The Macco Motors boys got to work on a design that was based on their previous Triumph work but with a darker and more industrial look to better suit Daniel’s requirements. It was love at first site and with the bike now in Spain work commenced immediately. The tank is the centre piece, with classic double pin stripes separating the industrial matte black from the raw metal finish.
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    Wanting to use their signature leather seat Macco first needed to fabricate a custom subframe to suit the new setup and to give the bike a cleaner look. The leather seat is trimmed in Macco’s favourite colour leather that gives the Modern bike a vintage look and further enhances the T100s industrial credentials. The new subframe holds the Macco built rear mudguard supporting a classic look taillight out back. Nothing says custom Triumph like a Bates style headlight and new bullet indicators clean up the overall look. Completing the finish is a handmade fibreglass front guard and Macco side covers specially built for the T100 to show off some of the functional components while still hiding the electrics.
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    Wanting a bike that performed as well as it looked Daniel had Macco install a set of progressive rate springs in the front forks by Hagon working in unison with the adjustable Hagon Nitro’s out back. The final contact point with the road is left to the beefy front Metzeler Tourance tyre with a matching 140 section rear Metzeler Tourance laying down the power.
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    And while Daniels T100 hasn’t been given a full engine build there are a few more ponies thanks to the aforementioned pipes that are now heat wrapped and matched to the colour coded SuperTrapps.
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    Jumping aboard the Triumph Daniel now takes control thanks to a set of Biltwell Tracker handlebars with matching Biltwell grips to absorb the vibrations. The single speedo provides all the information needed to avoid a speeding ticket and the built in warning lights give the front end an ultra-clean look.
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    The race style levers not only look the business but make grabbing a handful of brake or clutch a much quicker prospect and the alloy footpegs keep riding boots in place in all sorts of climactic conditions. Keeping Daniel’s leg safe but finishing off the build in the black industrial theme is an LSL sprocket cover.
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    With the bike completed the gamble of sending a British motorcyle to a Spanish workshop has absolutely paid off. Jose and Tito have built just the bike Daniel desired, designed to his specifications and finished beyond expectation. It’s just another day at Macco Motors, taking popular bikes and turning out one-off creations that are built to be loved and enjoyed; we can all drink to that!
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    [Photos by Sergio Ibarra]
    via PIPEBURN